Israel's government has approved a deal with Hamas for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

It is the most significant breakthrough in 15 months of war, which began when the armed Palestinian group attacked Israel on 7 October 2023.

What is in the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas?

A broad outline of the deal was announced on Wednesday by Qatar, which brokered the deal along with the United States and Egypt. However, the full details of what was agreed by Israeli and Hamas negotiators have not yet been officially announced.

US President Joe Biden has said the deal would "halt the fighting in Gaza, surge much needed-humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, and reunite the hostages with their families after more than 15 months in captivity".

Hamas seized 251 hostages when it attacked Israel in October 2023. It is still holding 94 captive, although Israel believes that only 60 are still alive.

Israel is expected to release about 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, some jailed for years, in return for the hostages.

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How will the ceasefire work?

Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani said Israel and Hamas agreed to a three-stage agreement that will come into effect on Sunday.

Here is what is understood to be in the deal.

First stage

The first stage would last 42 days, or six weeks, and see "a full and complete ceasefire", US President Joe Biden said as he confirmed a deal had been reached on Wednesday.

Sheikh Mohammed said Hamas would release 33 Israeli hostages, including "civilian women, female soldiers, children, the elderly, and sick and wounded civilians".

In exchange, he added, "a number" of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails would be released.

Israeli government spokesman David Mencer previously said most but not all of the 33 hostages - which include children - were thought to still be alive.

Three hostages would be released on the first day, with the rest of the exchange taking place at regular intervals over the six weeks.

During this first stage, Israeli troops will pull out of "all" populated areas of Gaza, Biden said, while "the Palestinians [could] also return to their neighbourhoods in all the areas of Gaza".

A senior Palestinian official involved in the negotiations in Doha said that under the terms of the agreement, Hamas police in their official blue uniforms will manage the movement of displaced individuals from southern Gaza to the north while avoiding proximity to Israeli forces.

It was also agreed that personnel would only carry weapons when absolutely necessary.

Almost all of Gaza's 2.3 million people have had to leave their homes as Israel has carried out continuous strikes across the territory and issued mass evacuation orders for large residential areas.

There will also be a surge in humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza, with hundreds of lorries allowed in each day, as well as the rehabilitation of hospitals, clinics and bakeries, Sheikh Mohammed said.

The Palestinian official previously said detailed negotiations for the second and third stages would begin on the 16th day of the ceasefire.

Biden said the ceasefire would persist "as long as the negotiations continue".

Second stage

Stage two would be "a permanent end to the war", according to Biden.

The remaining living hostages, including men, would be released in return for more Palestinian prisoners.

Of the 1,000 Palestinian prisoners Israel is thought to have agreed to release overall, about 190 are serving sentences of 15 years or more.

An Israeli official previously told the BBC that those convicted of murder would not be released into the occupied West Bank.

There would also be a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.

Third stage

The third and final stage involves the reconstruction of Gaza - something which could take years - and the return of any remaining hostages' bodies.

What are the unanswered questions about the deal?

Getting to this point has taken months of painstaking indirect negotiations - not least because Israel and Hamas completely distrust each other.

Hamas wanted a complete end to the war before it would release the hostages, something which was unacceptable to Israel.

The ceasefire deal will in effect pause the war while its terms are carried out.

However, it is unclear whether it will mean the war is over for good.

One of Israel's key war aims was to destroy Hamas's military and governing capabilities. Although Israel has severely damaged it, Hamas still has some capacity to operate and regroup.

It is also unclear which hostages are alive or dead, or whether Hamas knows the whereabouts of all those who remain unaccounted for.

For its part, Hamas has demanded the release of some prisoners which Israel says it will not free. This is believed to include those who were involved in the 7 October attacks.

It is not clear how many hostages and prisoners will be exchanged on any given day of the ceasefire, given the complex nature of the ratio agreed under the deal.

It is also not known whether Israel will agree to pull out of the buffer zone between it and Gaza by a certain date, or whether its presence there will be open-ended.

Any ceasefire is likely to be fragile.

Ceasefires between Israel and Hamas which have halted previous wars have been shaken by skirmishes and eventually broken down.

The timetable and complexity of this ceasefire means even a small incident could turn into a major threat.

What happened on 7 October 2023 and what has happened in Gaza?

Hundreds of Hamas-led gunmen launched an unprecedented attack on southern Israel, bursting through the border fence and targeting communities, police stations and army bases.

About 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 hostages were taken back to Gaza. Hamas also fired thousands of rockets into Israel.

Israel responded with a massive military campaign, first by air and then a ground invasion. Since, Israel has attacked targets across Gaza by land, sea and air, while Hamas has attacked Israel with rockets.

Israel's offensive has devastated Gaza and led to severe food shortages, with aid struggling to reach those most in need. More than 46,700 people - the majority of them civilians - have been killed by Israel's attacks, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry.

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Israeli government approves ceasefire deal

The Israeli government has formally approved the ceasefire deal in Gaza and the release of some hostages, soon halting the conflict that has been raging for 15 months.

The Israeli Cabinet voted in favor of the deal in the early morning hours in Jerusalem on Saturday, according to The Associated Press. The release of hostages and the ceasefire in the region will begin on Sunday, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

“The Government has approved the framework for the return of the hostages. The framework for the hostages’ release will come into effect on Sunday, January 19, 2025. Shabbat Shalom,” the office said, according to CNN.

A group of 33 ministers greenlit the deal after getting approval from the security cabinet on Friday. Israel’s highest court will wait 24 hours for any potential appeals.

The beginning of the ceasefire will likely permit the freeing of three Israeli civilian female hostages held in Gaza on Sunday. Some 90 Palestinian female prisoners and children will be exchanged in return.

The start of the ceasefire on Sunday should present a six-week period of peace between the Palestinian militant group Hamas and the Israeli military. The fighting is expected to halt while Israeli soldiers are set to retreat from the populated areas in Gaza.

The initial ceasefire deal, the second since the conflict started on Oct. 7, 2023, was struck on Wednesday.

“The fighting in Gaza will stop and soon the hostages will return home to their families,” President Biden said on Wednesday.

He added that in the first phase of the three-phase plan, Americans are also expected to be released. Biden said that if negotiations to proceed to the second phase exceed two weeks, the pause in fighting should continue.

“Negotiations will go forward for as long as it takes,” he said.

In phase two, an exchange for living hostages in Gaza, including Israeli military and men of military age is expected to take place.

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